As mentioned, I’m in the planning stage of our first trip to this particular wine country region. It’s been on the “list” for the past several years, but we just haven’t committed for one reason or another. Typically, we visit one of the various wine country areas, one or two times per year (Napa/Sonoma/Wash/Oregon). Other than a few long weekends, we will make a vacation out of these trips. We’ll spend a solid week on the ground, visiting different wineries that find their way to the ‘must visit’ list. We’ll fill in blocks of time between these appointments with a few random walk in’s. We’ll also add in a couple of non-wine tasting days. Chase a white ball around, site-see, hike, whatever sounds interesting or fun. Two days in a row of tasting wine is about my limit before my pallet needs a break……
I’ve been researching this region a bit, but could use some help and advice from those of you who know the area. We will fly into LAX, grab a rental car, then head towards Los Olivos. Spend 6 or 7 days in that area, then head back to LAX and fly home. I have not secured lodging or flights yet, or made any concrete plans. We’ll most likely target the months of Sept/Oct. My group of friends and I all live in Alaska, so we avoid the hottest summer months. Plus, I like the smell in the air during the harvest season.
I was surfing the Wine Country Getaways website, and it looks like there are basically five cities/towns surrounding this area: Los Olivos, Solvang, Lompoc, Santa Ynez, and Buellton? This site also has recommended winery routes to take; Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, Santa Ynez Wine Trail, Santa Rita Hills Wine Trail. It also recommends tasting rooms in Los Olivos and Solvang. Would these all be good day trips? Grab some deli food and plan a picnic at one of the wineries each day? Or are there other areas that might be better to focus on?
As far as lodging goes, I’m leaning toward renting a house, so long as it’s close to amenities and restaurants. Actually, within walking distance would be ideal, then we don’t have to worry about a DD for dinner…. Sometimes it’s nice to just grab some fresh local ingredients and cook at the house…. Hotels are an option too. I’m open to either at this point in the planning process. Any suggestions for a town/area??
A couple of nice dinner options would be appreciated. Price point doesn’t matter if we walk out feeling good about the meal and fond memories. I didn’t mind paying the bill at Single Thread, Cyrus, or TFL, but that bill at Meadowood……I won’t go back to that restaurant any time soon. Killer food, but damn…that bill (with wine pairing) hurt like hell.
I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts and questions, but I’ve probably already asked too many and don’t want to push my luck……